The value of fraudulent bookings has shot up over the past year, according to travel sector anti-fraud body PROFiT.
The latest annual study of data from PROFiT’s FIN anti-fraud system found the value of flight-only fraud had more than doubled from an average of £729 per booking to £1,561.
The average value of fraud related to overseas accommodation has rocketed from £558 to £1,289 per booking. Overall fraud is up 18%, although flight-only fraud volume has fallen.
PROFiT believes the trend, which is drawn from more than 800,000 fraudulent records, could reflect the emergence of luxury destinations such as Dubai.
But PROFiT chairman Barry Gooch warned that fraudsters were winning in all areas in what he described as “the hardest year on record for travel companies”.
“When things are tough, fraud goes up,” he added. “People tell me the market is up to 20% worse than last year – and last year was hard.”
To help firms combat fraud, PROFiT is running a 20-week email campaign backed by industry bodies including Abta, Aito and The Travel Network Group.
Companies are sent a weekly email that includes detailed advice about a specific area of fraud.
The travel sector is regarded as a problem area for payment fraud, particularly card-not-present (CNP)transactions, according to PROFiT.
Most firms use a card security code or address verification system to pick up fraudulent bookings, but these are not considered adequate.
Gooch said, while work has been done with airlines, card companies and authorities to tackle fraud, travel agencies were “regarded as the next biggest problem”.
“The implications are that card schemes are likely to get tougher with travel companies,” he added.